The Factory of Maladies: Seven Days on a San Francisco Psych Ward

In my recently published memoir, The Factory of Maladies: Seven Days on a San Francisco Psych Ward, I explore the stigma around mental illness, complicated family dynamics, and the danger of cults. The memoir is an intense and visceral journey of my week-long institutionalization; it illustrates my confusion and disorientation when I first awake, the dehumanizing experiences on the psychiatric ward, my interactions with other patients and staff, and ultimately, it explores my yearning for healing amidst chaos and crisis. It’s also written through a compassionate lens and with dark humor; it’s maddening, heartbreaking, but most of all, hopeful. 

I have been lucky enough to receive some lovely feedback surrounding The Factory of Maladies; however, the highest compliment is when a fellow writer approves of my work or even asks me about my writing process. As a lifelong avid reader and writer, exploring the seven-year process of writing and editing my memoir is an aspect of my book that I love to explore and it’s a story best told from the beginning. 

There was clear moment when I knew that I had to write a memoir. It happened during my institutionalization when a very kind nurse went against hospital protocol and smuggled a notebook and a miniature golf pencil into my room. She knew that I love to write (miraculously, this information was in my chart) and she looked at me as she handed over the pencil and notebook, and with a subtle head nod and intense eye contact, she silently communicated: Share your story. It was this nurse’s generous gesture that became the catalyst for writing The Factory of Maladies. 

I believe that time was a great catalyst for clarity in terms of sharing my story; I spent seven years journaling in a stream-of-consciousness style of writing. As I wrote, I was inevitably triggered by my past experience, but I channeled the visceral memories and flashbacks onto paper, while simultaneously receiving professional help for my PTSD.

At first, the more I wrote, the more frequent and intense the flashbacks were. However, putting this pain to paper proved to be one of the greatest assets of my writing style and a major part of my healing process. I also saved all the paperwork and occupational therapy worksheets during my institutionalization, and they proved to be extremely helpful in terms of recalling specific events and dialogue.

I spent another year editing my journals and when I began to share my completed work with select family and friends, I had an epiphany: each reader shared that they could relate to my struggle with mental illness to various degrees; hence, there was a thread of relatability to my story. I knew that if I pushed through the difficult emotions that would inevitably occur with sharing my memoir, there was a possibility of destigmatizing mental illness for many. 

Although my memoir may seem bleak in the beginning, it is ultimately a story of hope and healing on many levels, including: the ability to overcome adversity, the power of sharing one’s truth, and the power of the written word, which was my ultimate catharsis.

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The Factory of Maladies: Seven Days on a San Francisco Psych Ward

A Raw and Visceral Tale. An Inspirational Story for All.

A harrowing seven-day journey. The Factory of Maladies is an unflinching memoir that delves into the realities of mental illness, the complexities of family dynamics, and the search for healing.

An inspirational life story. When Debbie Hartung awakens in a psych ward, her memories fragmented, she embarks on a confusing and disorienting experience. With dark humor and frank honesty, Hartung’s narrative exposes the stigma surrounding mental health, uncovers the impact of her family’s dynamics, divulges the danger of cults, and explores the inadequacies of our current mental health system.

From heartbreak to healing. Born from the pages of a notebook and a miniature pen smuggled in by a kind nurse, this memoir is both heartbreaking and hopeful, offering readers a deeply personal yet candid story of healing. Through her stream-of-consciousness writing, Hartung confronts PTSD, depression, and anger, turning pain into healing. The Factory of Maladies is more than her experience in the psych ward; it’s a book about healing yourself—an inspirational life story that uncovers, enlightens, and ultimately provides healing to the hopeless.

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing